






'4 






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,T**'",^ga^ 




®;f|^ Sl^man Memorial 

lEttloQt^s ana ^ddte$$e$ 

Delivered at the PUBLIC MEMORIAL MEETING held 
in the New Willard Hotel, Washifigton, D. C, on the evening 
of Wednesday, November 8, ipii^ to zvhich have been 
added suggested plans for the JOHN B. SLEMAN, JR., 
MEMORIAL HALL. 



EDITED BY 

ILfyKON Ji^iiMAiN Jones 



published by 

The Committee of One Hundred 

May, 1912 



' ij -^ : 



l^ribtttes to tf|c memors of 

Bom Aprils, 1874 Died July i, 1911 

Graduated Central High School June, 1891 
General Secretary, Washington Y. M. C. A., 

January 1899 to July 1900. 
Member Board of Directors, Y. M. C. A., 

May 1900 to July 1911. 

Served as Recording Secretary, Chairman of 
the Boys' Department Committee, Secretary 
Board of Trustees and Second Vice-President 
of the Association. 



A PUBLIC memorial meeting to pay tribute 
to the memory of John B. Sleman, Jr. 
was held in the New Willard Hotel on 
the evening of November 8, 1911. It 
was attended by men and women prom- 
inent in the civic, social, and religious life of the Cap- 
ital. 

Hon. Henry B. F. Macfarland, former President 
of the Board of Commissioners of the District and 
First Vice-President of the Young Men's Christian 
Association, presided. 

The following addresses were delivered : 
"Sleman, the Citizen," Hon. Cuno H. Rudolph, 
President of the Board of Commissioners of the Dis- 
trict of Columbia; 

"Sleman, the Philanthropist," Hon, John W. Foster, 
former Secretary of Stat^;. •. 

"Sleman, the Churchman;'-' the Rev. Dr. Samuel H. 
Greene, Pastor of Calvary Baptist Church; 

"Sleman and World Missions," Dr. John R. Mott. 
The Bishop of Washington offered the invocation 
and Mgr. Russell, Rector of St. Patrick's Catholic 
Church, pronounced the benediction. 






A report of special sub-committee on permanent 
memorial was presented at this meeting and provided 
for a Citizens' Committee of One Hundred who should 
raise the sum of $25,000 for a fund to be known as 
the JoJiii B. Sleman, Jr., Mcuwrial Fund, the amount 
to be invested through the Young Men's Christian 
Association of Washington, on a plan set forth in the 
committee's report which is incorporated in this 
memorial pamphlet. 

The meeting was in charge of a committee includ- 
ing: 

William Knowles Cooper 

George M. Kober 

Miles M. Shand 

George S. Wilson 

G. W. F. Swartzell 

Rev. Frank Goodwin 

Mark W. Baldwin 

Admiral M. T. Endicott, U. S. N., Retired 

B. H. Warner 

S. W. Woodward 

George Otis Smith 

J. Philip Hermann 

A special male chorus under the direction of Chas. 
T. Tittmann, rendered the music for the occasion. 



In Mctnotiam 



Being Extracts from ADDRESSES AND EULOGIES ON THE 
CHARACTER AND WORK OF JOHN B. SLEMAN, JR. 



Mr. Macfarland 

"On the nation's birthday the National Capital 
buried the body of a patriot as zealous, as faithful, 
as high-minded as any of those who achieved our 
independence and made us a nation. True, he was not 
in the army or the navy, but he was a civic soldier who 
fought mightily for the highest interests of his city 
and country. A Washingtonian born and bred, proud 
of the fact and loyal to its obligations, he first devoted 
himself to this community. Among the many who 
have unselfishly served it, none have shown greater zeal 
or efficiency. As a churchman, as a citizen, as a 
neighbor in the largest sense, he set an example which 
all of our young men would find joy in following. 
Whether in our civic organizations or in our philan- 
thropic societies, so necessary and useful, or under an 
appointment of the President or the Commissioners, 
he responded gladlv and efficiently to every call of 
public duty." 

Commissioner Rudolph 

"While frequently praised by friends and commend- 
ed in the press for diligent and unselfish work in the 
community, the first public tribute was when, on the 
eve of his departure for Japan in February, 1907, sev- 
eral hundred of our leading citizens assembled to bid 
an affectionate farewell to him and his travelling com- 



oanion. 



* * * * 



The echoes of the speeches of that occasion still 
ring in our ears. It was a demonstration such as rarely 
indeed comes to a citizen. I do not recall any other 
such testimonial of love and appreciation tendered to 
one so young in years. * * * Public effort was to 
him more than private acquisition, public recognition 
an incentive to further accomplishment, accumulation 



Eulogies and Addresses 



simply the means for further extended service. It 
has been said, and the truth of it is proven by the 
earthly career of John Sleman, that "the measure of 
a man's life is the well-spending of it, not the length." 
In the short time he was with us, he taught us, by 
actual practice, what is best in an American citizen. 
Places in every-day life of a community, made vacant 
by the grim reaper, are sometimes filled quickly, some- 
times not for a long while, sometimes never. The 
place of John Bottrell Sleman, Jr., remains unfilled." 

Dr. Greene 

"Some men pass and we simply miss them; others, 
by reason of character and service, compel remem- 
brance. Almost unconsciously we reveal our own 
measurement in the homage we pay to the memory 
of good men. * * * yir. Sleman was the natural 
product of a Christian home. * * * "ji^q home 
life was beautifully supplemented by the Sunday 
School. * * * Thus through his early years in 
the training of the home supplemented by the Sunday 
School and the Church, our brother became a church- 
man. * * * To him the spiritual alone could give 
meaning to the organic and material. He loved God, 
believed in Jesus Christ as the Saviour of the world 
and the Church as the necessary and divinely appointed 
organization through which redeemed life could best 
worship and work. * * * Mr. Sleman's life fur- 
nishes the world a fine practical illustration of the 
normal development of character under favorable con- 
ditions; the influence of heredity, the Christian home, 
the Sunday School, the Church, the denomination of 
which the local church is but a part, and the Kingdom 
of God of which the denomination is but a part, and 
the fact that the greater includes and emphasizes the 
lesser. * * * por the pastors and churches of 
Washington I venture to express their hearty and 
grateful appreciation of this life of rare beauty and 
helpfulness, a life true enough to be loyal to his own 
church and large enough to be the brother and helper 
of us all; God's man, a citizen of the Kingdom." 



The Sleman Memorial 



General Foster 

"* * * A philanthropist is defined by the Stand- 
ard Dictionary as 'one who sympathizes with and en- 
deavors to help his fellow-men.' If I add to this 
a statement from high clerical authority that 'every 
real Christian is practically a philanthropist,' we find 
the motive which governed the daily life of John B. 
Sleman, Jr., and which justifies the claims of the 
friends who knew him best that his name will be 
placed on the roll, along with that of Abou Ben Adhem 
'as one who loved his fellow-men.' * * * Why 
is it that we are assembled here tonight to honor the 
memory of this young man, suddenly cut off in the 
prime of life, rather than the thousands of young men 
in Washington of similar opportunities who go to 
their graves 'unhonored and unsung'? It is because 
he met his responsibilities as a Christian and friend 
to his fellow men, and discharged these duties to the 
best of his ability, and it is such a man we delight to 
honor. I doubt if Washington in the present genera- 
tion has produced a citizen more worthy of a lasting 
memorial. The lesson for the young men of this city 
and for us all is to follow the example of this modest 
but illustrious life." 

Dr. Mott 

"John Sleman never by word, by silence, or by life 
apologized for the sublime enterprise to make Jesus 
Christ known and to make His principles applied 
among all men, throughout the world. * * * He 
believed in the world-wide mission of Christianity be- 
cause he was a genuine Churchman, * * * be- 
cause he was a patriot, * * * because he was 
a citizen of the world. He was proud of that 
citizenship, and it did not weaken in the least his 
whole-souled American patriotism. His heart was 
in the world affairs of Christianity. * * * 
Possibly Sleman's most distinctive service of an inter- 
national character was the part he had in launching 
and promoting the Laymen's Missionary Morement. 



Eulogies and Addresses 



* * * If he had done nothing more than to sug- 
gest and give effect to the idea of the Laymen's Mis- 
sionary Movement, he would have rendered a service 
sufficient to place Christianity under lasting obligation 
to him. ^^ * * We can best show our appreciation 
of the value of the services of Sleman, our loyalty to 
his memory and our gratitude for his friendship by 
seeking to emulate the traits which so wonderfully 
characterized him; his vision which penetrated even 
into the darkest and most distant continents; his con- 
structive ability, which made him ingenuous or invent- 
ive in devising plans for the spread of the Kingdom; 
his unintermittent enthusiasm, which was so contagi- 
ous that wherever he went it kindled others with zeal ; 
his abounding unselfish activity, which enabled him to 
lose himself in a great cause; his loyalty to men, which 
made possible the finest team work and the highest 
multiplication of his talents; and, above all, his absolute 
devotion to the will of Christ, which ever dominated 
him with a passionate desire to have the wish of Christ 
accomplished in the world." 

Mr. Woodward 

At the Citizen's Banquet, February 15, 1909, in 
honor of Mr. Samuel Walter Woodward, commemo- 
rating his ten years of service as President of the 
Washington Young Men's Christian Association. Mr. 
Woodward's response contained the following tribute 
to Mr. Sleman: 

"It is impossible for me to find words to express the 
feelings which overcome me on this occasion. To say 
that I appreciate from the depths of my heart the pres- 
ence of each one of you here and the kind words with 
which you have addressed me is but a feeble expression 
of my thoughts. * * * * 

'1 wish I might name all the men who have given me 
assistance and support in my ten years of service, but 
time forbids. I would not, however, be true to myself 
if I did not mention one name, that of the unpaid 
secretary of the Association. We have one among us 
whose love for Christ and His cause, for the Associa- 
tion, and for all that it means to the young men of our 



8 The Sleman Memorial 

city, is so strong that no exi)enditur€ of time or labor 
seems to him too great to give to the support of the 
Washington Association. In season and out of season, 
living with it by day and not deserting it by night, he 
has thrown himself into this cause with a devotion and 
abandon and perseverance which could never be 
exceeded. What more can I say of John B. Sleman, 
Jr.? (Applause) 

"The Washington Association could not live without 
him. The president of the Association could not live 
without him. (Applause) He has been my right hand 
and my constant support through my ten years of 
service. I present him tonight to my successor as the 
Associations' best and strongest asset. (Prolonged 
applause. ) 

Dr. Radcliffe 

"Sleman, known and beloved in the life of the Capi- 
tal, modest, genial, real, devoted, and specially honored 
as the originator of the Laymen's Missionary Move- 
ment in the Church of Christ." 

Mr. Ellis 

"A modest man, a knightly man, whose bride was 
Christ ; a devoted friend, a dreamer of dreams, yet a 
man of affairs — surely the incense of John Sleman's 
life is a grateful offering to God, and a sweet fragrance 
to earth/' 

Mr. Charles F. Weller 

" 'Christ's Young Crusader' is the title by which 
many will think of you, dear friend, now that your 
earthly life has been completed. 

"You were our leader in many adventures of the 
spirit. You have been one of the best types of our 
young American business man at his very best. Your 
life among us was just such a life as Christ, I think, 
would have our young men lead. * * * 

"The strength and courage you have given us, the 
vision and inspiration, the guidance and leadership, 




1899-1905 — Former Columbia Athletic Club, acquired during 
General Secretaryship of John B Sleman, Jr. 



PCOPOyLD • LXTiLN./'ICN -TO 

CI.NTLAL°Y°M»C«A 

WAy H INQTON-D-C- 




Proposed J'.oys' llnililing. 



Present lUiikling. 




Troposed Sleinan :srei)iorial Ivxtensiou 




18th and G, showing corner property added Januar) 1912, and Site 
of Proposed Sleman Memorial Hall and Extension. 

Possible future exteusions to the i)resent Central tUiild- 
ing of the Young i\Ien's Christian Association are sug- 
gested in the architects sketch and floor plan presented in 
this memorial pamphlet. The purchase in January U)12 
by the Association Trustees of the adjoining corner lot 
at 18th and G streets completed the first step necessary to 
the proposed extension on the west. The suggested ex- 
tension on the east replacing the present Boys Building 
is a ])roject which ma^• come in the more distant future. 

It seems to be the general sentiment of interested 
friends that the National Capital is a most fitting ])lace 
for a permanent memorial to commemorate the life and 
service of Air. Sleman, and that the logical organization 
to l>e entrusted with the custody of the memorial is the 
Young Men's Christian .\ssociation of Washington. 

The Committee of One Hundred desire that the \m>- 
posed fund of $25,000 shall be made up of a large number 
of gifts — that hundreds of Mr. Sleman's friends parti- 
pate. Vov this purpose letters and subscription blanks are 
to be mailed to a selected list «->f his friends, who will 
doubtless gladly have a part in establishing The Sleman 
Memorial Hall, because of their devotion to Mr. Sleman 
and their esteem for the Christian work which he repre- 
sented and which the memorial is designed to ])er])etuate. 



Eulogies aitd Addresses 13 

the warm glow of democratic human sympathy — all 
these Christ-like gifts are eternal. Through these your 
benign influence will go on, as a tidal wave following 
the moon, as you followed the great Christ spirit, 
sweeps the sea." 

The Mission Herald 

"As the accredited originator of the idea of a Lay- 
men's Missionary Movement, he has influenced all 
Christian America, not to speak of other lands. His 
sudden and premature death calls attention to the 
worth of his way of life. Why do not young men 
more often see it. Other ambitions stir, other fields 
allure; yet after all there is no field more promising 
than this of Christian work, which is both open and 
near at hand ; and no success is so absolutely and per- 
manently satisfying as to find one's life in the upbuild- 
ing of the Kingdom of God. It is at once the least 
crowded and the most rewarding profession — this of 
the laymen serving in the Church of Christ." 



In January, 1912, the Trustees of the Young Men's 
Christian Association, throug:h the Board of Managers, 
completed the purchase of the property adjoining the 
present central building on the west, with a view to 
using it in the future for the erection of an extension 
to the present central building. It is proposed that a 
six story building — corresponding in style of archi- 
tectur>i and construction with the present building and 
similar to the proposed extension on the east as a new 
building for the Boys' Department — shall be erected. 

The lot purchased has a frontage of fifty-ni»e feet 
on G street and one hundred and eighteen feet on 
Eighteenth street and is now occupied by a four-story 
building, the former residence of Senator Everett. 
The suggestion came from members of the John B. 
Sleman, Jr., Memorial Committee that an auditorium 
to be called The John B. Slenmn Memorial Hall be 
incorporated as a part of the proposed extension and 
that the sum of twenty-five thousand dollars be raised 
by subscription to provide for this portion of the build- 
ing as a permanent memorial to Mr. Sleman. 

The purchase by the Association trustees of the 
property at 18th and G streets was considered nec- 
essary as a protection to the present holdings of 
the Association and would doubtless have been con- 
summated sooner or later regardless of the Sleman 
Memorial Committee's proposal. It would seem, how- 
ever, that the project as outlined is most appropriate 
as a permanent memorial to the character and service 
of Mr. Sleman. The six-story building providing ad- 
ditional dormitories for young men with a guaranteed 
revenue on the committee's investment of $25,000, 
would be used in the service of employed boys of the 
city of Washington and the extension of the Kingdom 
of Christ among the young men in non-Christian lands 
— the two interests which were manifestlv the dearest 
to John B. Sleman, Jr. 

The preliminary plans for the proposed extension 
building are presented in this pamphlet together with 
the committee's subscription plan for the Sleman Mem- 
orial. 




covBi. :i) 



n Lyi • riooL • plan 



Pljetu0rial ^ommitUt "^.zipoxt 



The report of the special committee appointed to 
consider whether or not there should be some form of 
permanent memorial commemorating the life and 
services of the late John B. Sleman, Jr., and, if so, 
what should be the fonn of the memorial was pre- 
sented to the public meeting at the New Willard, 
Wednesday, November 8, 1911, as follows: 

On September 20th, there was held in the New Wil- 
lard Hotel, in this city, a meeting attended by represen- 
tatives of the following organizations, to take action 
respecting the death of Mr. John B. Sleman, Jr. : 

Chamber of Commerce Playgrounds Association 

Board of Trade Young Men's Christian As- 
Associated Charities sociation 

NE,.„.o,«„o» H„„s. ^°"rsso^;S'' ^■'"""'' 

Bov Scouts or America Conorecational Brotherhood 
Temple Lodge, No. 32 of America 

Monday Evening Club Laymen's Missionary Move- 
Public Library ^^■^^^'^ 

Underwriters' Association Central High School Alumni 

Association 
Mt. Pleasant Congregational 

Church President's Homes Commission 



One of the two committees appointed at that meeting 
was charged with the duty of considering a permanent 
memorial. Having perfonned that duty, this commit- 
tee submits the following recommendations, which 
received the unanimous approval of the General Com- 
mittee at a meeting held October 11th: 

In the judgment of the undersigned committee, a 
sum of twenty-five thousand dollars should be secured 
by subscription, the same to be known as 

^Ixe iafett % ^Icmati, Jr. 
ptjemartal ^wnd 



The committee recommends : 

That the Fund, when completed, be intrusted to the 
Young Men's Christian Association of the City of 
Washington, with the understanding that the said 
Association shall guarantee an annual income upon 
the same in an amount not less than five per cent ; 

That the Board of Managers of said Association 
shall divide the income in two equal parts each year, 
one half to be appropriated to the Twenty-four-Hour- 
a-Day Club, the foreign work department of the 
Washington Association, of which Mr. Sleman was the 
founder and the first and only President during his 
lifetime; and one half to the Boys' Work Committee 
of the said Association for the purpose of providing 
memberships and tuition for worthy employed boys 
and others through the Boys' Department of said As- 
sociation. (The Committee expresses the hope that 
the funds provided will maintain one hundred boys 
in the Department annually.) The form of Memorial 
suggested in a measure perpetuates the two dominant 
interests — Foreign Work and the Work for Boys — 
with which Mr. Sleman was intimately connected dur- 
ing practically all of his active public life. 

That a Committee of One Hundred be appointed by 
the Chairman of this meeting to secure the said Mem- 
orial Fund ; and that the Union Savings Bank be 
authorized to receive subscriptions to the Fund, subject 
to the control of the Committee of One Hundred. 

Respectfully submitted, 

Wm. Knowles Cooper 
Geo. S. Wilson 
Geo. M. Kober 
Miles M. Shand 
g. w. f. swartzell 



By the unanimous vote of those present at the mem- 
orial meeting the report was adopted and the chairman 
authorized to appoint a committee of one hundred. 



^Itmmi ^txnoxViil ®0mmittjeje 



Samuel Walter Woodward, Chairman 
Arthur C. Moses, Vice-Chainnan D. J. Callahan, Vice-Chairman 



Byron S. Adams 

Judge Thos. H. Anderson 

W. H. Baldwin 

Rear Admiral A. S. Barker 

Dr. Charles L. Bliss 

L. E. Breuninger 

D. J. Callahan 
David S. Carll 

Prof. Mitchell Carroll 
Edward E. Clement 

C. I. Corby 
W. S. Corby 

J. J. Darlington 

H. Bradley Davidson 

E. B. Deam 
Orville B. Drown 
John Joy Edson 

Rr. Admrl. M. T. Endicott 
William J. Eynon 
Hon. John W. Foster 
Percy S. Foster 
Daniel Eraser 
Creed M. Fulton 
Dr. Merrill E. Gates 

E. B. Grandin 
W. F. GUDE 

D. Fulton Harris 

J. Phillip Hermann 
William H. Hoeke 
HoLCOMBE G. Johnson 
Dr. George M. Kober 
Lee D. Latimer 
Edwin S. LaFetra 
Lawrence R. Lee 
W. P. Lipscomb 

A. LiSNER 

F. S. LiNDLEN 

Norton M. Little 



Alvin M. Lothrop 

Hon. H. B. F. Macfarland 

E. P. Mertz 

Ransford S. Miller 

Arthur C. Moses 

Charles F. Nesbit 

Theodore W. Noyes 

Hon. Stanton J. Peele 

Hon. Gifford Pinchot 

Jackson H. Ralston 

Fred B. Rhodes 

W. B. Robison 

Hon. Cuno H. Rudolph 

M. M. Shand 

James Sharp 

Frederick L. Siddons 

Prof. T. W. Sidwell 

W. H. Singleton 

J. H. Small 

E. QumcY Smith 

George Otis Smith 

Thomas W. Smith 

W. H. H. Smith 

Gen. Ellis Spear 

A. L. Sturtevant 

G. W. F. SWARTZELL 

Edward Tarring 

Dr. Wilbur P. Thirkield 

Corcoran Thom 

Hugh A. Thrift 

Washington Topham 

James Trimble 

Brainerd H. Warner 

Dr. William S. Washburn 

James E. West 

Dean William Allen Wilbur 

George S. Wilson 

S. W. Woodward 



all of Washington, D. C. 



Henry A. Atkinson 
Rev. W. L. Beard 
Francis S. Biggs 
Samuel B. Capen, L. L. D. 
William F. Cochran 
William Dulles 
William T. Ellis 
Dr. E. M. Gallaudet 
Col. E. W. Halford 
Samuel E. Knecht 



Chicago 

New York 

Baltimore 

Boston 

Woodbrook, Md. 

New York 

Louisville 

Hartford 

New York 

Chicago 



J. Edgar Leacraft 
William H. Lewis 
Alfred E. Marling 
Richard C. Morse 
John R. Mott 
Eben E. Olcott 
John R. Pepper 
Lyman L. Pierce 
N. W. Rowell, 
Chas. a. Rowland 
Wm. Jay Scheiffelin 
L. H. Severance 
William Shaw 
J. N. Shenstone 
Andrew Stevenson 
E. B. Sturges 
Fred B. Smith 
William E. Sweet 
Charles F. Weller 
J. Campbell White 
Mornay Williams 



New York 

Portland, Oregon 

New York 

New York 

New York 

New York 

Memphis 

Pittsburgh 

Toronto 

Athens, Georgia 

New York 

Cleveland 

Boston 

Toronto 

Chicago 

San Francisco 

New York 

Denver 

Pittsburgh 

New York 

New York 



%xtcntixic ©ammittee 



HoLCOMBE G. Johnson, Chairman 

Wm. Knowles Cooper 

Charles 1. Corby 

Dr. George M. Kober 

Norton M. Little 

Fred S. Lincoln 

W. B. Robison 

Miles M. Shand 

S. W. Woodward 

Hon. H. B. F. Macfarland 

all of Washington 
Hon. N. W. Rowell 

Toronto 
James E. West 

New York 



The Crane Press 

710 Thirteenth Street 

washington. d. c 



: ^ i ■'} 






